sbk92
2
- Messages
- 12,134
- Reaction score
- 6
KEVIN SHERRINGTON / The Dallas Morning News | ksherrington@dallasnews.com
IRVING – On the fairy tale scale, the Cowboys' upset of the Giants in the Blackout Bowl ranks right up there with frogs turning into princes or ugly ducklings into swans. Ol' Aesop would have had a best seller with the Cowboys.
As it turns out, they were a championship-caliber team trapped in a 1-7 body.
All that was needed for a transformation, apparently, was a coach who preached punctuality and reminded them to play hard every day and stand with their toes on the sideline for the national anthem.
And wear ties.
For some reason, this actually seemed to work for Jason Garrett like a potion.
Before we go any further, I realize it was only one win. But it also seems fair to note that it matched the season total. And Garrett had been on the job a week.
God got to rest on the seventh day. Garrett had to play the Giants on the road.
Given how far the Cowboys have come under Garrett already, it makes you wonder what he could accomplish once he gets a handle on how this head coaching thing is supposed to work.
Or maybe he already knows. Jimmy Johnson told ESPN.com last week that Garrett visited the Keys a couple of years ago to quiz him about the ins and outs of being a head coach. Garrett just about wore Johnson out.
Not that he would try to mimic Jimmy. Or Nick Saban, his boss in Miami. A Princeton guy probably should be too smart to pretend to be something he's not.
Garrett's as smart as they come. But we already knew that. What we didn't know is what he'd be like as a head coach. We're starting to get a pretty good idea.
Besides what you've already heard – player dress code, practicing in pads on Wednesdays, making them hustle to the next play in practice, more zone defense – there aren't a lot of drastic differences between what went on under Wade Phillips and what Garrett demands. But there's certainly a difference in how they go about it.
When Troy Aikman was describing his pal on Sunday's broadcast, he used the word "president." As in "of the United States." Now that's a stretch. But consider that, when he addresses the media, Garrett does it standing, behind a lectern. The last few Cowboys coaches sat behind a table.
Not presidential.
Garrett usually doesn't say much when he talks, which you might also call presidential. But listen closely, and he reveals more than you'd think.
He wouldn't say Monday what he'd done to discipline Marion Barber, who violated his new dress code on the road. But you could tell it'd been addressed. He didn't say David Buehler was in any trouble after a shaky day against the Giants. But he said he missed "two short kicks," then added, "He needs to make 'em."
Phillips might have said the same thing about Buehler, but he'd have added that his kicker has been pretty solid otherwise this season and then cited his statistics.
Garrett doesn't burnish a point. In fact, he's almost comically terse.
Asked Monday how many text messages he'd received for his first win, he said, "A few."
More than a dozen?
"A few."
Why not go ahead and say? Because it makes the Cowboys' win personal, which is not conducive to the team concept he's preaching. He doesn't do "walk-offs" with the print media after the news conferences. Why? Because he's busy trying to put a system in place on the fly, mainly. But those discussions also include off-the-record comments or personal questions. He's not going there now. Maybe never.
He's making it crystal clear that whatever he says or does, he has a purpose. He's leaving no room for doubt. Even millionaires occasionally need clarification.
Whatever happens from here on out, at least he's off to a roaring start. But as time goes by, he could loosen up a little.
When a reporter asked how his father, Jim, a former scout for the Cowboys and one of the nicest guys in the game, was taking it all in, Garrett said it was going well.
"I've been fortunate to have been his son for a number of years," he said.
There was a beat, maybe two, before he smiled.
IRVING – On the fairy tale scale, the Cowboys' upset of the Giants in the Blackout Bowl ranks right up there with frogs turning into princes or ugly ducklings into swans. Ol' Aesop would have had a best seller with the Cowboys.
As it turns out, they were a championship-caliber team trapped in a 1-7 body.
All that was needed for a transformation, apparently, was a coach who preached punctuality and reminded them to play hard every day and stand with their toes on the sideline for the national anthem.
And wear ties.
For some reason, this actually seemed to work for Jason Garrett like a potion.
Before we go any further, I realize it was only one win. But it also seems fair to note that it matched the season total. And Garrett had been on the job a week.
God got to rest on the seventh day. Garrett had to play the Giants on the road.
Given how far the Cowboys have come under Garrett already, it makes you wonder what he could accomplish once he gets a handle on how this head coaching thing is supposed to work.
Or maybe he already knows. Jimmy Johnson told ESPN.com last week that Garrett visited the Keys a couple of years ago to quiz him about the ins and outs of being a head coach. Garrett just about wore Johnson out.
Not that he would try to mimic Jimmy. Or Nick Saban, his boss in Miami. A Princeton guy probably should be too smart to pretend to be something he's not.
Garrett's as smart as they come. But we already knew that. What we didn't know is what he'd be like as a head coach. We're starting to get a pretty good idea.
Besides what you've already heard – player dress code, practicing in pads on Wednesdays, making them hustle to the next play in practice, more zone defense – there aren't a lot of drastic differences between what went on under Wade Phillips and what Garrett demands. But there's certainly a difference in how they go about it.
When Troy Aikman was describing his pal on Sunday's broadcast, he used the word "president." As in "of the United States." Now that's a stretch. But consider that, when he addresses the media, Garrett does it standing, behind a lectern. The last few Cowboys coaches sat behind a table.
Not presidential.
Garrett usually doesn't say much when he talks, which you might also call presidential. But listen closely, and he reveals more than you'd think.
He wouldn't say Monday what he'd done to discipline Marion Barber, who violated his new dress code on the road. But you could tell it'd been addressed. He didn't say David Buehler was in any trouble after a shaky day against the Giants. But he said he missed "two short kicks," then added, "He needs to make 'em."
Phillips might have said the same thing about Buehler, but he'd have added that his kicker has been pretty solid otherwise this season and then cited his statistics.
Garrett doesn't burnish a point. In fact, he's almost comically terse.
Asked Monday how many text messages he'd received for his first win, he said, "A few."
More than a dozen?
"A few."
Why not go ahead and say? Because it makes the Cowboys' win personal, which is not conducive to the team concept he's preaching. He doesn't do "walk-offs" with the print media after the news conferences. Why? Because he's busy trying to put a system in place on the fly, mainly. But those discussions also include off-the-record comments or personal questions. He's not going there now. Maybe never.
He's making it crystal clear that whatever he says or does, he has a purpose. He's leaving no room for doubt. Even millionaires occasionally need clarification.
Whatever happens from here on out, at least he's off to a roaring start. But as time goes by, he could loosen up a little.
When a reporter asked how his father, Jim, a former scout for the Cowboys and one of the nicest guys in the game, was taking it all in, Garrett said it was going well.
"I've been fortunate to have been his son for a number of years," he said.
There was a beat, maybe two, before he smiled.
